§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what facilities are available at the local library in Barnoldswick for persons wishing to use the services of the Employment Service and which have been added or withdrawn since the closure of the town's jobcentre. [26564]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. G. Johnson to Mr. Gordon Prentice, dated 6 June 1995:
The Secretary of State has asked me, in the absence of the Chief Executive, to reply to your question regarding the provision and withdrawal of services provided by the Employment Service (ES) at Barnoldswick library.Since the closure of the town's Jobcentre, the ES has provided a vacancy display facility and a Freephone service connected to Come Jobcentre at the local library. The facility was initially staffed on a part-time basis between 9.30 am and 11.30 am on Mondays and Wednesdays. This was reduced to Wednesdays some two years ago.The facility has not been used to any significant extent and the decision was recently taken to withdraw the part-time staff presence from the library, with effect from 10 May.The vacancy display which is updated twice a week and Freephone service are still available to people using the library. The Freephone number is available for use by the public outside the library's opening hours.I hope this is helpful.